What Could Have Been
by Dorano1
Summary: Much could have been different.
_"Anakin -"_

 _"Master, please!"_

 _"I can't go back. Please...just go."_

* * *

If Anakin Skywalker had not come back from Mortis, much would have been different.

With the death of the Daughter, the Son, and the Father, Mortis held fast to the Chosen One, refusing to let the Jedi leave to return to his galaxy. Eventually, the Jedi Skywalker understood, and sent his Master and his Padawan on without him, while he stayed to temper the Force on the planet that didn't seem to exist. It was a crying Obi-Wan that dragged a pleading Ahsoka with him, but not before promising that - one way or another - Anakin would not die here, alone as he was with nothing and no one. Anakin smiled and told him to go before Rex missed them.

Rex never knew what happened to his General, only that he was missing from the rendezvous, leaving behind a grieving Padawan and a devastated Master. No matter how hard he pushed, Ahsoka never told him what happened to Anakin, only that he was never coming home. He was used to the MIAs, but this...this was something else entirely. It takes weeks of convincing on Ahsoka's part - and numerous fruitless searches - before he reluctantly accepts that his General is simply _gone._

General Pong Krell takes Skywalker's place, and the casualty numbers of the most elite fighting force in the army skyrocket almost immediately. Ahsoka rebels against her new master as much as she can, making it a point to call the men by name instead of number, leading small strikes to minimize casualties in the main force, streamlining the medical evacs wherever she could, working beside Kix and Coric to treat the injured - because _someone_ had to care, and clearly Krell wouldn't.

By the time the Mon Cala civil war rolled around, the men were scarred by both blasters and lightsabers, with Krell's reckless tactics throwing so many lives away. Without the constant vigilance of Rex and Ahsoka, there would have been many, many more. The two were a barrier between Krell's brutality and their men, always attuned to each other and the new General's moods, always taking the brunt of the shouting, the cursing, and the threats. Ahsoka tries to shield Rex as best she can - but Rex is trying to do the same for her, and it doesn't work very well for either of them.

The men aren't fooled by any of it, no matter how diligently Rex and Ahsoka try to pretend that everything's okay, that they're _not_ serving under a psychopathic monster. They all see the dark circles under Ahsoka's eyes and they all hear the slight rasp in Rex's voice when he speaks. They noticed the hunched, furtive look they both get when Krell is near, even as they re-position themselves to draw attention towards themselves and away from their men. But they stay their hands, because Rex and Ahsoka insist on it. This was their responsibility, they claimed, not that of their men.

When Rex turns up one day with a burn mark along his jaw, his friends took exception. It started with three - Fives, Echo (who had, in a strange twist of fate, survived the Citadel intact), and Jesse started fighting back, then Wires and Chopper and Hardcase join in. The pressure on Rex and Ahsoka eased, for a time, but when Krell's campaign on Umbara started, they spent more time getting patched up than fighting, and the pressure redoubled.

The mutiny came quickly after Rex appeared in the medbay minus one hand, supported by newcomer Tup and protected from their raging General by a livid Hardcase and a furious Ahsoka. The mass desertion followed immediately after, as the entirety of the 501st Legion, pride of the Republic, commandeered the _Fortitude_ \- once Anakin Skywalker's flagship, now safe haven for those he left behind - and vanished from the galaxy, led by a powerful young Jedi with a lightsaber on each hip and two dead masters haunting her dreams; one lost and forgotten on a planet that didn't exist, the other killed by her own lightsabers on a world stuck in eternal twilight.

The Wolfpack was tasked with hunting them down, but despite Plo Koon's desperate efforts, they could not find them, and they were forced to abandon the search after General Kenobi called for aid in recovering kidnapped citizens from the Zygerrian slaver empire. While many died, more survived, and if Ahsoka Tano had been there to see it, she would have called it victory.

Barriss Offee, despondent at the loss of her friend and disillusioned with the Jedi Order, fell under Palpatine's sway when he visited her at the Jedi Temple, ostensibly while returning from a talk with Master Yoda. He was sympathetic to her loss, revealing his friendship with Ahsoka's Master, and extended the offer of his time should she ever need to talk with someone who _really_ understood what it was like to lose a friend - because the Jedi might encourage detachment, but Palpatine could see that Barriss drew strength from her friends.

When Order 66 rang out, there was no one to warn the clones to remove their chips. Hundreds of Jedi died at the hands of their men, but the 501st had made the discovery on their own, when Tup's chip malfunctioned, causing him to attempt to take Ahsoka's life. Tup's chip might have killed him, but thanks to his sacrifice, every man in the 501st had their chips removed before Order 66 came through.

When Darth Sideous rose, it was with Darth Kyva at his side, not Vader, and Kyva was not nearly as powerful as Vader. She died on Mustafar at the hands of Ahsoka Tano - freshly returned from exile - and the Jedi on Coruscant were shielded by men in white and blue as Darth Sideous died by Yoda's hand.

The Republic flourished under Supreme Chancellor Amidala. The men of the 501st were given full pardon and reinstatement into the Grand Army as thanks for their actions during Darth Sideous's failed takeover. The Jedi welcomed Ahsoka Tano back into their ranks, with a promotion to Knight, and officially reinstated her as Jedi General of the 501st Legion.

When the war ended, the clones were granted full citizenship as members of the Republic. The Jedi returned to their Temple. A golden age of peace began.

And possibly, just possibly, the aging Grand Master Kenobi would return to Mortis with a Jedi and an old wartime flagship.

And maybe, just maybe, he would find someone waiting for him.

* * *

 _"It's been a long time, Master. That's all right. I made my choice."_

 _"You'd be proud. She's come far."_

 _"I knew she would. She had you to guide her."_


End file.
